The eradication of poverty is a shared responsibility for the international community—indeed，a moral imperative.This task has become no less urgent in the last decade，in spite of rapid economic growth in many parts of the world.While the percentage of the world‘s population living on less than $1 per day has fallen from 28.3%to 24.0%between 1987 and 1998，population growth has kept the absolute number of poor steady at some 1.2 billion.If we take a higher cutoff point of $2 per day，the poor have increased by 250 million over the same time period，encompassing 2.8 billion people，or almost half of the world’s population.Nor do World Bank projections lend undivided hope for the future.Under the“business as usual”scenario，the number of poor on the $1 per day scale will not change during the projection period up to 2008.However，should policy measures be taken to boost economic growth and make the growth process more inclusive to the poor，the World Bank reckons that 500 million people could be brought out of extreme poverty by 2008.Even under this more optimistic scenario，Latin America and the Caribbean，and especially Sub-Saharan Africa would see little，if any，progress.The same pattern emerges under the higher cutoff point of $2 per day. 　　In the light of these dire statistics and projections，it is easy to appreciate the growing public concern that not enough is being done to address poverty and poverty-related social illnesses，such as poor work conditions，a lack of respect for human rights，and natural resource degradation.Indeed，such concerns have been vented with increasing frustration，including at the Ministerial Conference of the WTO in Seattle last year，and more recently at the joint spring meeting of the IMF and the World Bank. 　　One problem facing governments in poverty-stricken countries，civil society，and international organizations is that poverty is a multidimensional problem with no simple solution—not least because of its sheer scale.The causes and expressions of poverty are not the same everywhere，although some common terms can often be found，including a lack of access to education，basic health care，and unequal distribution of productive assets。 Moreover，rural communities，which are often the hardest hit by poverty，face their own development problems related to poor infrastructure ，which make it more costly to participate in the national and global economy.Another factor that perpetuates poverty is that the poor often lack political leverage to influence the policies and priorities of governments. 　　1.By saying that the eradication of poverty is a“moral imperative”，the author means____. 　　[A] it is a moral responsibility to do away with poverty 　　[B] it is closely related to the formulation of moral standard 　　[C] raising moral standard is the only solution to poverty 　　[D] it is morally impossible to find a solution to poverty 　　2.Between 1987 and 1998，the number of people living on two dollars a day____. 　　[A] actually increased 　　[B] fell slightly 　　[C] was cut down greatly 　　[D] kept rising steadily 　　3.What might happen in the year 2008 if proper policies for economic growth were made? 　　[A] 500 million more people would join the extremely poor. 　　[B] No drastic change would happen to the life of the poor in the present poor regions. 　　[C] The number of the poor on the $1 per day scale would be greatly cut. 　　[D] The number of the poor living on $2 dollars per day would be drastically decreased. 　　4.Why is it not easy to solve the poverty problem? 　　[A] Because the international community hasn‘t made enough effort at it. 　　[B] Because the governments in poor countries do not give enough attention to it. 　　[C] Because solving the problem is beyond the means of the poor countries. 　　[D] Because it is a problem that involves multiple factors. 　　5.Which of the following is NOT mentioned as an obstacle to the solution of poverty? 　　[A] The enormous size of the poor population. 　　[B] Slower economic development in extremely poor regions. 　　[C] The government policy in poverty-stricken countries. 　　[D] The classification of the poor population. 　　1.[A] 意為：消除貧困是一種道義。imperative這里是一個(gè)名詞，意為“必須履行的責(zé)任”。 　　2.[A]根據(jù)第一段，在世界范圍內(nèi)，每天靠1美元過活的人在1987年～1998年間從 28.3%降到24%，但是從人口增長的角度來看，貧困人口的絕對(duì)數(shù)量還保持在12億人。另外，如果我們以日平均2美元作為貧困線標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的話，那么，在同一段時(shí)間內(nèi)貧困者的數(shù)量就增加了2.5億人，涉及28億人，幾乎是世界總?cè)丝诘囊话搿?　　3.[C]第一段提到，如果現(xiàn)在的經(jīng)濟(jì)形勢(shì)“保持不變”，到2008年，靠日平均1美元生活的貧困人口的狀況不會(huì)得到改觀。但是，如果制定政策促進(jìn)經(jīng)濟(jì)的發(fā)展，使經(jīng)濟(jì)的增長更多地涵蓋到貧困人口，世界銀行預(yù)測(cè)，到2008年，5億人口可能脫離貧困。 　　4.[D] 意為：因?yàn)檫@是一個(gè)涉及很多因素的問題。最后一段提到，貧困國家的政府、文明社會(huì)和國際組織面臨的一個(gè)問題是：貧困是一個(gè)多方面的問題，沒有簡單的解決方案——由于涉及面廣更是如此。造成貧困的原因和貧困的形式各地不盡相同，雖然我們可能從中找出一些基本特征，如教育落后、基本醫(yī)療條件缺乏、生產(chǎn)資料分配不均等。 　　[C]意為：貧窮國家無力解決這個(gè)問題。 　　5.[D] 有關(guān)[A]參閱第2、3題題解。有關(guān)[B]、[C]參閱最后一段。

　　二

　　With its almost six billion people，the world offers a fascinating variety of human shapes and colors.As humans spread throughout the world，their adaptations to diverse climate and other living conditions resulted in this fascinating variety of complexions，colors，and shapes.Genetic mutations added distinct characteristics to the peoples of the globe.In this sense the concept of race，a group with inherited physical characteristics that distinguish it from another group，is a reality.Humans do indeed come in a variety of colors and shapes. 　　In two senses，however，race is a myth，a fabrication of the human mind.The first fabrication is the idea that any one race is superior to another.All races have their geniuses—and their idiots.Like language，no race is superior to another.Adolf Hitler‘s ideas were extreme.He believed that a superior race，called the Aryans，was responsible for the cultural achievements of Europe.They possessed the genetic stuff that made them inherently superior.Even many scientists of the time一not only Germany but throughout Europe and the United States—espoused the idea of racial superiority.Not surprisingly，they considered themselves members of the supposedly superior race! 　　In addition to the myth of racial superiority，there is a second myth—that of the existence of a“pure”race.From the perspective of contemporary biology，humans show such a mixture of physical characteristics.that the“pure”races do not exist.Instead of falling into distinct types clearly separate from one another，human characteristics flow endlessly together.These minute gradations made arbitrary any attempt to draw definite lines. 　　Large groupings of people，however，can be classified by blood type and gene frequencies.Yet even this arrangement does not uncover“race”。Rather，such classifications are so arbitrary that biologists and anthropologists can draw up listings showing any number of“race”。Ashley Montagu，a physical anthropologist，pointed out that some scientists have classified humans into only two“races”while others have found as many as two thousand.Montagu himself classified humans into forty“racial”groups. 　　This is not meant to imply that the idea of race is a myth.That idea is definitely very much alive.It is firmly embedded in our culture，a social reality that we confront daily.Sociologist W.I.Thomas observed that“if people define situations as real，they are real in their consequences”。The fact that no race is superior or that biologically we cannot even decide how people should be classified into races is not what counts.What makes a difference for social life，rather，is that people believe these ideas，for people act on beliefs，not facts.As a result，we always have people like Hitler.Most people，fortunately，do not believe in such extremes，yet most people also appear to be ethnocentric enough to believe，at least just a little，that their own race is superior to others. 　　1.It can be inferred from the first paragraph that the diversification of human race resulted from____. 　　[A] both genetic inheritance and environmental influences 　　[B] the differentiation of the inherited physical characteristics 　　[C] humans‘ adaptations to diverse climate and other living conditions 　　[D] genetic mutations alone 　　2.The word“fabrication”probably means____. 　　[A] mystery 　　[B] invention 　　[C] exaggeration 　　[D] perspective 　　3.Why is there no“pure”race according to the passage? 　　[A] Because people of different races often get married. 　　[B] Because people have different blood types. 　　[C] Because racial characteristics overlap. 　　[D] Because there are so many races in the world. 　　4.Any attempt at classifying races____. 　　[A] is at best arbitrary 　　[B] is bound to be biased 　　[C] tends to pick out one race as superior 　　[D] takes culture into account 　　5.The author concludes the passage by pointing out that 　　[A] it is hardly possible to classify humans into racial groups 　　[B] we should be on our guard against any idea of racial superiority 　　[C] race is indeed a mystery to be explored and uncovered 　　[D] it is not important how people should be classified 　　1.[A]第一段第二句強(qiáng)調(diào)了環(huán)境因素的影響，第三句提到了基因變異的作用。 　　2.[B]該詞此處意為：臆造，捏造。 　　3.[C]根據(jù)第三、第四段，不存在“純的”種族，這是因?yàn)槿说纳眢w特征是無法劃歸清楚的，任何想劃一個(gè)清晰界限的做法都會(huì)證明是武斷的。第四段還談到不同的研究者對(duì)種族分類的多寡，這也是為了證明難以做到對(duì)種族進(jìn)行清晰的分類。 　　4.[A] 意為：至多是武斷的。參閱第四段，尤其是該段第三句。 　　5.[B]最后一段作者指出種族歧視存在的現(xiàn)實(shí)性。人們的錯(cuò)誤觀念與現(xiàn)實(shí)一樣可怕，因此我們應(yīng)該和反對(duì)種族歧視的做法一樣防止種族歧視思想的產(chǎn)生。